Case Summary (G.R. No. 93054)
Key Dates
• January 30, 1990: Plebiscite on Republic Act No. 6766 held in Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga-Apayao, and Baguio City.
• February 14, 1990: COMELEC Resolution No. 2259 declares Organic Act ratified only in Ifugao.
• February 5, 1990: Executive Secretary memorandum orders wind-up of existing Cordillera bodies under EO 220.
• March 8, 1990: Congress enacts Republic Act No. 6861 to set region-wide elections in Ifugao.
• March 9, 1990: Petition for non-ratification filed with COMELEC.
• March 30, 1990: Administrative Order No. 160 abolishes Cordillera Executive Board and Assembly.
• December 4, 1990: Supreme Court decision.
Applicable Law
• 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article X, Section 15 (autonomous regions must consist of multiple constituent units).
• Republic Act No. 6766 (Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region).
• Republic Act No. 6861 (elections in Cordillera Autonomous Region of Ifugao).
• Abbas v. COMELEC (G.R. No. 89651, November 10, 1989) (interpreting plebiscite-majority requirements).
Plebiscite Outcome and Government Action
In the January 1990 plebiscite, only Ifugao voters approved the Organic Act by a narrow 5,889-vote margin; the other provinces and Baguio City rejected it by 148,676 votes. COMELEC Resolution 2259 and a Justice Department memorandum concluded that Ifugao alone constituted the new autonomous region. Congress then passed RA 6861 to schedule regional elections solely in Ifugao, while the Executive Secretary and President moved to dissolve preexisting Cordillera bodies under EO 220.
Constitutional Requirement for Autonomous Regions
Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution mandates that an autonomous region “consist[] of provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas,” implying a grouping of more than one constituent unit. The term “region” in ordinary usage connotes multiple provinces or local government units sharing common historical, cultural, economic, and social characteristics.
Statutory Framework under RA 6766
Republic Act No. 6766 envisions a regional government exercising powers over all constituent provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays within the Cordillera. It establishes a Cordillera Regional Assembly with members apportioned among all participating provinces and cities, a Regional Planning and Development Board including all provincial governors and city mayors, a regional Commission on Appointments with members from various localities, cabinet posts drawn “as far as practicable” from different provinces and cities, tribal courts for indigenous communities, and the development of a common regional language. Funding allocations and administrative structures assume coverage of multiple units, not a single province.
Practical and Logical Impracticability of Single-Province Region
Allowing Ifugao alone to form the autonomous region would create overlapping executive and legislative bodies—regional officials exercising authority over the same territory as provincial counterparts—duplicative planning boards for identical functions, an under-representative assembly from one small province, an unquorate Commiss
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. 93054)
Facts
- On January 30, 1990, plebiscites were conducted under Republic Act No. 6766 in the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Abra, Kalinga-Apayao, and in Baguio City to ratify the Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR).
- Official COMELEC returns showed only Ifugao Province voting in favor by a majority of 5,889 votes; all other provinces and the city rejected the measure by a combined 148,676 votes.
- By Resolution No. 2259 (February 14, 1990), COMELEC declared that the Organic Act was ratified solely in Ifugao.
- The Secretary of Justice, in a memorandum of the same date, opined that under the proviso of Section 13(A) of RA 6766 “only the provinces and city voting favorably shall be included in the CAR,” and thus Ifugao alone legally constituted the Region.
- On February 5, 1990, the Executive Secretary authorized winding up of the Cordillera Executive Board and Regional Assembly under EO 220.
- On March 8, 1990, Congress passed RA 6861 scheduling CAR-Ifugao elections for March 1991.
- On March 9, 1990, petitioners sought COMELEC relief declaring the Organic Act non-ratified; COMELEC merely noted the petition.
- On March 30, 1990, the President issued Administrative Order No. 160 abolishing the Cordillera Executive Board, Assembly, and related offices under EO 220.
Procedural History
- Petition filed before the Supreme Court by Ifugao local officials and residents to:
• Nullify COMELEC Resolution No. 2259, the Secretary of Justice and Executive Secretary memoranda, Administrative Order No. 160, and RA 6861;
• Prohibit use of funds for their implementation;
• Declare EO 220 still in force until a duly ratified organic law is in effect. - Respondents—COMELEC, Justice Secretary, Executive Secretary, cabinet officers, and officers-in-charge—filed comments treated as their answer.
Issue
- Can a single province (Ifugao), by voting favorably in a plebiscite, legally and validly constitute the Cordillera Autonomous Region under the 1987 Constitution and RA 6766?
Petitioners’ Contentions
- Article X, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution contemplates autonomous regions to consist